Iga Swiatek disagrees with Martina Navratilova’s opinion on her latest win at Wimbledon
Iga Swiatek breezed through to the third round of Wimbledon by defeating Karolina Pliskova in straight sets.
Swiatek raced to a 6-1, 6-3 victory against the former World No 1 in what was one of her best performances under new coach Francisco Roig.
The World No 3 struggled in her first match against Taylor Townsend, needing a deciding set to get through the contest, but that wasn’t the case against Pliskova.
Martina Navratilova, who was watching Swiatek on BBC Sport commentary duty, was very impressed by the Pole’s performance in her second round match.
The multi-time Grand Slam champion rated Swiatek an A+ for her performance, which was then relayed to the Pole in her post-match interview.
Speaking on-court to the BBC, Swiatek was asked about Navratilova’s high praise following the match.
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“Wow! Thanks for that. When legends like that say nice things about you, it means a lot,” said Swiatek about Navratilova’s comments.
“It is basically why you try to be the best tennis player possible, so that people appreciate it. I’m really happy that she is saying that,” she said, although she later admitted that she didn’t agree with the assessment.
“I don’t know if it was an A+ because at times it was a tricky game, especially with the wind. Sometimes the balls were really low and far away from you,” said Swiatek.
“I felt like I played so many dirty shots in that final game especially, I wasn’t able to control them that much. So maybe not A+, more like B I would say.”
Swiatek will next play Alexandra Eala at Wimbledon, who defeated Maya Joint in a three-set contest. Eala has made it to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career and she has been rewarded with a very tough match against the Pole.
Swiatek and Eala have been constant foes since the Filipina’s breakthrough tournament at the Miami Open back in 2025, which saw her reach the semi-finals of the event.
Eala toppled Swiatek during the American event, knocking the then-World No 2 out in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the Masters event.
The pair met in the Madrid Open a few months later, which allowed Swiatek to earn some semblance of revenge on the rising Filipina star.
Swiatek will be the overwhelming favourite to win the contest, but it has all the makings of a banana skin for the World No 3. The match is set to take place Saturday, July 4th, with the order of play yet to be confirmed by the Grand Slam.
